You can even browse presets directly from KeyLab, filtering them by instrument, sound bank, or style. Native Instruments offers a flashier and arguably more advanced version of these same tools on its Kontrol series, but I find Arturia’s UI more responsive.
Integration with Arturia’s individual instruments is a little more patchy at the moment. Only some, like Mini V and Piano V, will allow you to browse presets and show graphics, though I’m sure updates will fix that soon enough. Since the interfaces of the instruments vary widely, the way the controls are mapped also can be inconsistent. And for many of the stand-alone instruments there are more parameters to contend with than there are hands-on controls. You can easily remap these to your liking, but it does add an extra step.
The KeyLab mk3 also offers some control over your digital audio workstation (DAW), so long as your DAW is Ableton Live, Bitwig Studio, FL Studio, Cubase, or Logic Pro. Your specific choice of recording software will determine how tight the integration is. I only tested Ableton Live, and things mostly worked as expected. The transport controls allowed me to play and record, and the knobs and faders were automatically mapped to controls for Ableton’s native instruments and effects. The pads can be used to trigger scenes and clips in Ableton’s clip view, and big improvements were also made allowing you to easily select and arm tracks using the main encoder.
Other Goodies
The new KeyLab mk3 has a few other nice features, including scale mode to keep you from playing out of key and an excellent arpeggiator with randomization tools. In addition to serving as a controller for your DAW and plug-ins, it has 5-pin MIDI in and out ports for directly talking to hardware synths. Plus it comes with a solid software bundle, including Analog Pro V, Mini V, Piano V, Augmented Strings, Ableton Live Lite, and more.
Ultimately, the reason to pick the KeyLab mk3 isn’t the arpeggiator (I think Native Instruments’ arpeggiator is better). It’s high-quality hardware and seamless integration with Analog Lab. At $499 for the 49-key version and $599 for the 61-key, they’re actually cheaper than comparative controllers from Novation and Native Instruments.
If you’re already a dedicated user of Arturia’s software instruments and want something a little more premium than its plasticky KeyLab Essential series, the KeyLab mk3 is an obvious choice. But if you’re not already committed to a specific plug-in suite, the KeyLab is a solid proposition. It delivers high-quality hardware at a lower price than the competition and comes packaged with some of the finest emulations of classic synths on the market.
